QR Code Generator. Definition, Examples and Best Practices

Blog / QR Code Generator. Definition, Examples and Best Practices

2022 is the year of QR Codes – impressive right! According to Juniper Research we’ll be observing about 1 billion smartphones accessing QR codes during this year. And not just that, as per this study an astonishing 5.3 billion QR code coupons will be redeemed by customers throughout the world.

It is a profound growth rate of 300% from the initial estimates, done previously in the year 2017. It has proved to be a quite handy and futuristic invention that is greatly used to facilitate millions of touchless transactions and communication during the Covid Pandemic.

With QR codes businesses enable their customers to trigger actions in milliseconds with less human intervention. Smooth check-ins, easy ticket booking, your favorite menu items listed at special prices, and almost everything you need to buy is available at your fingertips.

The adaptability at both sides, the business owners and the consumers is impressively high coz, QR codes are super easy to use, store more information than barcodes, save time, are more sustainable, and are here to stay.

Now, let’s uncover all practical, functional, and enriching aspects of QR codes and QR code generators. As a business owner, if you want to implement a QR code strategy the right way then this article is for you.

What is a QR Code Generator?

QR Code Generator is simply an online tool or software to generate scannable QR codes consisting of specific data information either for free or for a fee.

Using these QR codes generating tools you can make your own QR codes to share your goal information like your website URL, a digital pdf document, an image, a video, social media profile pages, calendar data, email addresses, phone numbers, ready to send SMS, an email response, plain text, location map, signup form, or a simple WIFI password.

Consisting of different features these tools will let you create plain black-and-white, designer colored, & or branded with logo QR Code variations.

Now, let's dig into the must-to-know basics of QR codes.

QR Code Fundamentals

• QR Code Definition & Background

  QR codes are two-dimensional scannable image comprised of squares and dots that holds informational data.

  These are originally invented in 1994 by the Japanese automotive company Denso Wave as an advanced form of a barcode. It is called a matrix barcode that encodes (stores) information data in four formats - numeric, alphanumeric, byte/binary, and kanji.

  The primary goal of this discovery is to achieve high-speed scanning and store more information, which can be decoded even when damaged. If you’re interested in knowing all QR Code technical facts then this Wikipedia article about QR codes is a good read for you.

  QR codes, much like the barcodes that they have almost replaced, are a visual, quickly machine-readable way to represent information in a compact, fixed-size, format.

• QR Code Full Form

  The QR is an abbreviation for "Quick Response."

  QR codes, despite their appearance, are capable of holding a large amount of data. However, regardless of how much information they include, when scanned, the QR code must allow the user to instantly access this information - thus the name "Quick Response code."

• Types of QR Codes

  Unlike barcodes, they are designed to hold more information and can have a greater density (i.e., smaller dots), when you need to represent a lot of data or lower density (i.e., larger dots) when you need to represent a small amount of data.

  They are also designed for the modern world.

  Barcodes were designed to be read with laser scanners, and are much older technology so they are only good for storing very short information like product number or codes.

  QR codes, especially the ones we use today, were designed to be read with a phone camera, something we all have in our pockets every day. And while they are cool looking for humans, their design makes them easy for your phones to read even at less-than-optimal angles and in less-than-optimal lighting conditions.

• Why you need a QR Code?

  During the COVID pandemic, we have seen more and less all kinds of stores that have been obligated to keep control of individuals that have entered their store and most of them have used a QR code as a starting point of the registration flow of the individual.

  Essentially, any piece of information that you might want to give to someone that can’t be easily remembered, written down or typed into your phone, or information that is easy to type in incorrectly.
  Think:

  • email addresses,
  • websites,
  • unique IDs like loyalty numbers or flight ticket numbers

  While you can theoretically encode a lot of information if you have a QR code large enough, they’re primarily used for short but hard-to-type information. Try to get a prospect of your to type in a 16 letter and number code into their phone to understand the kind of chore QR codes can solve in as much time as it takes to open your camera app.

• Why are they more popular now?

  Well, we’ve needed to share a lot more information recently, in a touch-free way that is accessible to almost everyone. Additionally, as most QR codes are embedded on landing pages and are viewed on screen, instead of being printed on paper, they can be created on the fly which makes certain applications, as vaccination passes, a lot more secure.

How to generate a QR Code?

By using QR Generators you can easily generate QR codes for different goals, like:

• QR Code from Link

  If you already have a link for which you require a QR code, you can use a QR code generator to create a QR code for your particular use case. So, if you have a website or a booking system, or any already created page you could simply create a QR code for that and start getting traffic on that page.

  Usages / Examples:
  What are the various use cases for such a QR code that you make from a link, you would ask?

  Let me share with you below some of these most common use cases so that you can take inspiration from there and get going with QR codes.

  • QR Code for Restaurant

    If you've lately gone out to dine at a restaurant, you may have been asked to scan a QR code with your smartphone to see the restaurant's menu. Perhaps you've spotted QR codes being used to make contactless payments. QR codes have become a popular tool for improving in-dine experiences, from ordering to contactless payments and menu information.

    As restaurants reopen, controlling the coronavirus transmission through surfaces such as physical menus is a big issue. Switching to contactless options like QR Code menus is the new normal for restaurants of all sizes.

    It takes less than a few minutes to create a landing page with your menu on it or upload a PDF menu on the landing page and get a QR code to it which you can share. It goes a long way toward keeping customers engaged and safe.

  • QR Code for Covid Signup

    The responsibility to keep your employees and customers safe is always on you at your premise. Which means that in the times of COVID, you always need to keep a check on the COVID indicators of your employees and customers.

    Most countries have mandated a self-declaration from customers who visit premises or are looking to avail services. Again, the responsibility is on you to gather this self-declaration data and store it.

    You can simply do this by creating a landing page with a custom form. This form will be your questionnaire in which you can ask the mandatory self-declaration questions.

    You can generate QR code for your landing pages using a single click and can display it around the various entrances of your facility. Then the customers can be requested to scan it and fill up their self-declaration upon their arrival.

  • QR Code Generator for Images

    You might want to show a particular image and only an image when someone scans a QR code. It could simply be and advertisement banner that you want to put out at a physical location.

    But now, you could simply save costs of banner real-estate by putting just a QR code with your main marketing message. This way you can show the detailed banner only to those who are interested and actually scan the QR code.

    Simply put that banner on a mobile-friendly landing page. This could also include your website link and a customizable CTA (call to action) button to summarize your photos and connected business. And right there, you have a QR code to image campaign ready.

  • QR Code for WiFi

    Before the pandemic, it is safe to say that there was no other method to join a WiFi network without manually selecting one from a list and entering a password.

    However, thanks to the technological push that the world has witnessed, you can now generate a QR Code that allows you to share the Wi-Fi network and its password simply by pointing your camera at it or scanning it with a QR Code reader using our generator.

    What's even better?
    You can even capture the details of the users while doing so. How is that possible? Simply create a landing page with a form that asks for the user’s name, phone number and email address. Once the user scans the QR code and reaches this page, they would fill up the details after which they will receive the Wi-fi details as an SMS on their phone.

  • YouTube QR Code

    You can select one or several videos, subsequently shown on a mobile-friendly summary page. A QR code that will lead to this summary page will help the users find their way to the videos. This summary page is called a landing page.

    Such a “Video QR Code” is ideal for print marketing since it simplifies the process of allowing consumers to watch your films by just scanning the code. You may also include social media connections (such as your YouTube channel) on this landing page.

  • Social Media QR Code

    A QR code for all social media platforms is a QR code that shows all of your social media sites on a single mobile-optimized landing page. Many call it “Social Media QR Code”. You may use it to promote your social media profiles in any print medium or even on your social media profiles that don’t encourage or allow putting links (for e.g., Instagram Profile bio).

    This can single-handedly be the driver of growth for your social media channels as it can bring in the traffic from the physical world which otherwise may not have found you.

  • QR Code Questionnaire

    You could conduct your market research or survey using what many could call as a “Survey QR code”. When a Survey QR Code is scanned, a landing page appears which carries the survey form. People can fill it out and submit their replies.

    With an automated survey creator tool, you can create the survey form to be as long as you would want it to be. In fact, if your survey form is already created in another questionnaire platform like Google Forms or Typeform, you can always embed its iframe on a landing page.

    The data hence collected may then be analyzed to help you enhance your services or goods.

    You may also measure scanning activity by using Dynamic QR Codes. That is, you may obtain analytical information based on the date, city, district, browser, and device used to scan the QR Code.

    You may also observe how your target audience responds to the QR Code's encoded content and truly make high-ROI campaigns.

• How to create QR Code for a Website?

  You have seen above in all the examples and use cases that QR code make accessing the websites extremely easy. If you have a website that you would like to bring your users to, you would be interested to know how can you make a QR code for your website or webpage.

  There are a number different ways to make a QR code, and the one you choose will depend on your goals. Do you want to quickly make a code to share a website you've just discovered with your friends? Do you want to send the code to your friends via messaging apps? Perhaps you're advertising or marketing your personal or professional website and want something more substantial, with more features such as tracking?

  We'll go through all of the many ways to make a QR code for a website, as well as the ideal use cases and scenarios for each.

  Let's get started.

  • Create a QR code for a website using the Edge Browser

    Yes, Microsoft has put a QR code generator directly into the Edge browser, which is now powered by the Chromium engine, much like Chrome.

    On the Edge browser you can create a QR code in the following manner.

    The first is to land on a website, right-click on an empty space (not an image or a link), and choose Create QR code for this site from the drop-down menu.

    This will produce a QR code on the fly, which you can scan to access on your smartphone or download to share using a messaging app. You can also share it on social media sites like Reddit or Twitter.

    Another potential use case is if a buddy wishes to access this webpage on his phone and scan it fast.

    Because your buddy doesn't have access to your Microsoft account, the Edge browser offers a function that allows a user to transmit a site from desktop to mobile if the accounts are in sync. As a result, he or she can instead use the QR code.

    Another option is to use the QR code generator button in the address bar's far corner. The end outcome is the same, but the method of application is different.

  • Create and Scan a QR Code for a Website using Chrome

    Even though Chrome is the most popular browser on the planet, it still fails to generate a QR code on the fly. There is, however, an extension for making QR codes, just as there is for everything else.

    • On your Chromium browser (Chrome, Edge, or Brave), install the QR Code Generator plugin.
    • To produce a QR code on the fly, go to any website or webpage and click on the extension symbol. You may also do it on an empty browser tab, but you'll have to manually type in the URL.
    • You can either download the created QR code right away or use the Settings button below to change the appearance of the QR code.
    • Change the color of the background and foreground here, or leave it translucent. Play around with the QR codes until you're satisfied with how they appear. Then, on the previous screen, click the download option to save the image.
    • Did you see the Advanced button in the bottom right corner? Click this to allow the extension to add QR code generating buttons and shortcuts to Chrome's right-click menu, as well as the ability to scan QR codes on-screen.

• How does it work? Scanning a QR Code

  You simply share the QR code image in a print version or digitally, the target audience will scan it using their smartphones and access your shared information in a few seconds.

  • How to Scan QR Codes on iPhone

    Accessing QR codes from an iPhone is extremely simple. Here are the only 3 steps that you need to take in order to scan a QR code on an iPhone.

    • From the Home Screen, Control Center, or Lock Screen, launch the Camera app.
    • Select the camera on the back of your head. Hold your device so that the QR code displays in the Camera app's viewfinder. The QR code is recognized by your smartphone, which displays a notice.
    • To open the link connected with the QR code, tap the notice.

  • How to Scan QR Codes on Android phones

    To scan QR codes using android phones is getting more and more easier as Google is actively turning its android applications as more QR code friendly.
    Generally, all the latest android phone cameras have the inbuilt functionality to easily scan any QR code but if your android phone doesn’t support it then,

    • You can install a QR code app from the Google Playstore or
    • Google Lens app will work too.

• Barcodes for Magazines and the Difference between a QR code and a Bar Code

  Barcodes for Magazines

  The standards for a barcode for magazines differ slightly from those for other retail items that use the standard UPC barcode. The reason for this variation is that the magazine industry necessitates the capacity to distinguish between issues of a particular year's publication.

  Consider the following scenario:
  

  A barcode for a magazine may be seen in the image above.

  • The normal UPC barcode is the 12-digit barcode on the left. It refers to the selling of a single magazine. This 12-digit UPC number appears on every issue of a given magazine available for purchase from publishing firm XYZ
  • The barcode on the right varies from one edition of the magazine to the next. The periodical (bar)code, often known as the issue supplemental, is a barcode that identifies the issue of a certain year.

    For Example:

    • Issue numbers 01, 02, 03, and eventually 04 would be found in a quarterly magazine. The magazine would begin again with 01. the next year.
    • Issue numbers 01 through 12 are required for a monthly magazine.
    • Issue numbers 01 through 53 are required for a weekly magazine.

    When a magazine is scanned at your retailer's register, the scanner scans the 12-digit UPC number and recognizes that it is dealing with a single magazine from XYZ Publishing. The computer does not know which edition of the magazine has been sold until the scanner picks up the 2-digit supplementary code.

    This assists the merchant in maintaining accurate inventory data, determining how well (or poorly) any of your items is selling, and determining when restocking/reordering is required.

  • Magazine barcode

    You The ISSN number (International Standard Serial Number) of the magazine or newspaper is used to create magazine and newspaper barcodes. This rule applies to all periodicals, including magazines, newspapers, and other periodicals. Based on your ISSN number, we may provide barcode images.

    An 8-digit ISSN number is converted to an EAN13 barcode in the following way: 977 is added to the front of the number, the last of the 8 digits is deleted (this is a checksum), a nominal price code (typically 00), and finally the last digit checksum is inserted. ISSN 1234-5678, for example, would become 9771234567003. If the price was raised, the two-digit pricing code should be updated, for example, from 00 to 01, and a new barcode should be made, for example, 9771234567010.

    After the primary barcode, some magazines include a two-digit supplement barcode that varies by issue, such as 01-12 for 12 monthly issues, 01-52 for weekly issues, or 01-04 for quarterly issues. These barcodes can be reused year after year, with the exception of when the price changes.

  • Barcode vs QR Code

    If you ask us, don’t use barcodes, just don’t. Unless you’re trying to generate codes for pricing and inventory management only, i.e., something that has to be read with an old school laser scanner like we explained above, never use barcodes.

    They provide no benefits over QR codes (when scanned with a camera) and they will not automatically populate links inside your user’s camera apps.

    There is no good reason for you to generate a barcode instead of a QR code for any modern use case. We only have them on products because every shop has the hardware to read them, but they are essentially obsolete technology at this point.

    Let us take you through some quick comparison between barcode and QR code.

    Difference between a QR code and a Bar Code

    #	Website landing page	Other pages in the Website
    1	It was developed in 1952.	It was developed in 1994.
    2	It was developed by Norman Joseph Woodland.	It was developed by Masahiro Hara.
    3	It is of 2 types, 1 dimensional and 2 dimensional.	It is only of 1 type.
    4	It's a method of storing numbers in a written and computer-readable format.	It is a type of 2D barcode or printed representation of data that can be scanned for data retrieval.
    5	It is used in stores to monitor all purchased things, in hospitals to track patient data, in the rental car industry to track airline bags, mail, and nuclear waste, and in the rental car industry to track all rental automobiles.	It is used for data transfer in multiple different use-cases, especially in the field of marketing and sales.
    6	It is based on the Morse Code system.	It is based on Morse Code technology.
    7	It requires line of sight.	It requires line of sight.
    8	It has lesser data storage as compared to QR codes.	It can hold more data than barcodes.
    9	It stores information horizontally.	It stores information horizontally and vertically.
    10	It stores less information than QR codes.	It can hold more data than barcodes (it is used to store multimedia data).

QR Code Examples

Let’s take you through some good use cases for QR codes, and talk about the why and how of their use. This will open you to the possibilities of using such codes for your business.

• Vouchers or discount codes for IRL (in real life) experiences or products

  The first use case is a very common one. If you’re interested in attracting more customers to your brick-and-mortar store or venue, or perhaps special events where discounts are available for all customers – you might want to send such discount coupons as a QR code.

  In 2017, about 1.7 billion coupons were obtained via QR Codes. And in 2018, an estimated 3.27 Million households obtained a coupon via a QR Code. It is estimated that by 2022, about 5.3 Billion coupon codes will be redeemed via QR Codes.

  If you’re trying to attract customers that don’t usually come into the store, you probably want to do something a bit more targeted. Maybe you want to offer a discount to the residents of a newly finished apartment building that is nearby, and you want to print some fliers to put in their letterboxes. Or maybe you want to have cards with a discount code that frequent customers can give to their friends.

  Why would you want to use a QR Code for this?

  If the offer is limited and is only redeemable once, you probably want to have some unique discount codes so you can make sure people don’t abuse the campaign. If the discount is “50% off your first coffee on us”, you probably don’t want to be giving away half-off coffees to the same customer over and over again.

  How would you do this?

  First you need to generate your discount codes in your store’s ERP. Then take those codes and put them through a QR code generator and then simply put them on your fliers or digitally on landing pages.

  A word of caution here, if you want to use unique codes you won’t be able to print these at a traditional printer as each QR code will be unique, so you’ll have to use a trusty laser or inkjet printer.

  What alternatives are available?

  If you’re not that bothered about people using the discount multiple times you can use the same QR code on all fliers, or not even have a QR code at all, just have people bring in the flier to redeem the discount.

• Tickets or other unique entry tokens

  The only difference between tickets and vouchers is that your customers have most likely purchased the ticket. Realistically you should be generating your own QR codes for tickets if this is a small event, or if you want to sell the physical tickets.

  Even if you run an event management platform, you can integrate it with your marketing automation tool.

  Through these event management tools you can generate tickets or coupons with QR codes for your audience, but also have other important features like email marketing, sending calendar invites, sending reminder SMS, and most importantly, tracking online ticket sales.

  Why would you want to use a QR code for this?

  As tickets can by design only be redeemed once, they need to have a unique identifier, and QR codes are pretty much the industry standard for this.

  How would you do this?

  You’d need to do the same things as for vouchers, generate a list of unique ticket IDs in your email marketing tool, convert these to QR codes using a QR code generator and then print them out.

  What alternatives are available?

  You should strongly consider platforms like Eventbrite, Meetup or Ticket Tailor which are designed especially for hosting the event.

• Physical advertising for apps or websites

  If you have or market an app, website, or e-store and want to attract new customers using physical advertising like posters, billboards, or fliers you should absolutely consider adding a QR code to most if not all of these.

  People have short memories and are bombarded by advertising all day long, so the faster you can get a prospective customer onto your app or website, the better for you.

  Why would you want to use a QR code for this?

  Even if your app or website has an easy to remember or type in name, consider the situation in which a prospective customer will come across your ad.

  They are probably in a hurry and doing something else when your ad catches their eye. They are interested and want to learn more, they could try typing in your name into google and seeing what comes up, or searching for your app on their phone’s app store.

  Wouldn’t it be easier if they could just snap a picture of your code and be taken straight to the website or app in question?

  How would you do this?

  This could not be easier, just get the link to your website or app store listing and put it into a QR code maker, then pass this code on to your designer and you’re in business.

  For a much better user experience, create a unique landing page for each channel and use different codes for each, i.e., a landing page for your fliers, a landing page for your posters etc.

  This will both allow you to track engagement by channel, but also guarantee that your physical ad and the landing page look and feel the same.

  A note for app creators. Unfortunately, you can’t have one link that links to both the Apple App store or the Google Play Store, but you can create a landing page with buttons that leads to both, or even better a landing page that redirects your customer to their respective app store by detecting what platform they are on when they reach your website.

  This will be a bit more work, and you need to discuss it with your web developer, but it will create the smoothest experience possible. What you never want to have is multiple QR codes on the same physical ad, as that increases that chance the user scans the wrong one.

  What alternatives are available?

  The only real alternative to QR codes in physical ads are short URL links that are easier to type in, like those made with Tiny URL or other URL shorteners, but realistically while these are easier to type in, QR codes are both faster and better so will lead to better conversion.

• Physical advertising for live events, shops or restaurants

  As with the example above, you might want to include QR codes on your ads even if the good or service you are advertising isn’t digital. While for digital goods the goal is to shorten the time between someone being interested and someone downloading or visiting a website, for physical events the goal is retention.

  How many times have you tried to remember what that event you saw an ad for was called, but not managed to, or where that new restaurant you wanted to try was? If you want your customers to remember you need to help them out by giving them something to jog their memory.

  Why would you want to use a QR code for this?

  Your customer might not be able to purchase tickets to your event or visit your venue right now but it’s important to give them something they can bookmark or send to their friends right away, adding a QR code to a landing page is a great way of doing that.

  How would you do this?

  For this use case it’s extremely important that you have a landing page with a well-established goal in mind. If the goal is to get them to visit your shop, club or restaurant, make sure you have your name, address and map right at the top on the landing page, opening hours are also critical.

  If the goal is to get them to come to your event, give them to option to sign up to updates about the event right then and there, link to your twitter or Instagram account so they can follow you.

  Whatever action you choose, the important thing is that the customer should perform that action as quickly as possible after they see your ad? How do they get on this special landing page? A QR code of course.

  What alternatives are available?

  Your best alternatives here are hoping the customer takes a picture of your ad and looks at it later, or the same as before providing a short link. But you honestly have nothing to lose by adding a QR code.

• Remote ordering & special offers

  While some restaurants offered the option of ordering online when on-premise even since before COVID, the need to reduce contact has accelerated the adoption of digital menus and ordering. This can have multiple benefits for your business.

  First of all, it means you can print cards with QR codes that your customers can scan to get to the menu and order, but most importantly these cards don’t have to contain the menu.

  This means you can make changes to your menu and prices without having to reprint anything.

  Additionally, customers ordering though their phones will reduce the strain on your staff and sometimes even improve customer experience. How many times have you been asked for your order and needed additional time, or wanted to order but your server was busy with another table? With digital ordering & QR codes this is a thing of the past.

  Why would you want to use a QR code for this?

  There are two good reasons to use QR codes for your online ordering in your restaurant or cafe.

  Firstly, you want to make it as easy as possible for your customers to order, you don’t want them to have to type in your website to get started, especially if they might have had some alcohol already. Making customers order through their phones adds friction, you want to make this friction as limited as possible, so taking a picture and being taken straight to the menu/ordering page is ideal.

  Secondly, accepting orders online opens you up to fraud, it’s easy for someone to buy a domain very similar to yours and clone your ordering page. This can lead to customers placing their orders and paying there, and then being upset that they did not receive their food or drinks. To limit this, you should avoid letting customers type in anything.

  How would you do this?

  As with most of the examples in this article there are two parts. First you have to set up an ordering system. There are multiple platforms that can do this, depending on where you are in the world.

  Most importantly, make sure that you select a solution that has frictionless payments - that means support for Apple Pay, Google Pay and/or whatever other digital wallets are popular in your country. If you don’t want to use a specific solution for your industry you could always go with a generic e-shopping platform like Shopify, though this will provide a significantly worse experience.

  Once you have this platform set up you just need to take the link from it and put it into a QR code generator, then print some cards, preferably laminate them and put them on your tables.

  If you want to be extra fancy, and your platform supports this you can generate a unique link for each table and generate a unique QR code for each of those links eliminating the need for customers to input their table number.

  What alternatives are available?

  If you prefer, you could buy custom hardware for each table. Think tablets that are bolted to the tables, allowing customers to order without using their own devices. This will be much more expensive and you also have to replace the devices when they break or when customers break them.

  Alternatively, as with every other QR code you could print the link on the card instead, but we would strongly caution you against this in pubs and restaurants as typing and drinking don’t really mix well.

• Digital Labels for Physical Products

  Another use case to consider is enhanced packaging for physical goods. If you make products, there are some things you have to include on the label for legal reasons, but there might be things you want to include but don’t have the space for.

  Maybe you sell beauty products and want to provide videos of how to use them, or more detailed ingredient descriptions. Maybe you sell sweets and want to show how they are made. This kind of rich information is ideal marketing material for your website, but that doesn’t mean you can’t link to it directly from your products.

  Why would you want to use a QR code for this?

  Adding a QR code to the product page on every label is just smart marketing. It means you can provide a rich physical and digital experience for your customers. At the same time, you want this to be easily accessible so a nice QR code that matches your packaging color is your best choice, especially for customers browsing in your store.

  Further, if that QR code simply leads to an attractive landing page, you can also capture the details of the users.

  How would you do this?

  If you already have a page for every product you sell on your website, collect those links and run them through a QR code generator, then add them to your packaging.

  If you don’t have the pages already you should consider sorting out your online marketing first and then developing your packaging further.

  What alternatives are available?

  If you don’t want to use QR codes on your product you should at the very least include a link to your website. This won’t be as good, since customers will have to search for each product but it is better than nothing.

QR Code Tracking / How to measure and track QR Code performance?

The process of measuring QR Code scan performance and user insights is known as QR Code tracking. Learn how many people scanned the QR Code, who they were, where they were, what device they used, and how they acted. Only dynamic QR Codes are trackable, and when a user visits the URL, device, browser, and OS information, as well as when the QR Code was scanned, are recorded.

How does QR Code tracking work?

QR Codes are used to connect the physical and digital worlds. It is critical to track their success in order to fine-tune them and improve future campaigns. Most campaign owners erroneously associate QR Code performance tracking with QR Code tracking. The following is how each scenario works:

QR tracking: Determine HOW MANY people scanned the QR Code

The QR Code traffic score increases by one every time a user scans a QR Code and successfully views a webpage or PDF!

QR Code performance tracking is a quantitative assessment that provides insights as absolute numbers and percentages.

Best Practices for using a QR Code

• Focus on your primary CTA (call-to-action) that let your target audience perform quick actions.
• Use engaging landing pages to improve conversion rate.
• Monitor performance to strategies future targeting effectively.
• Take advantage of personalization and segmented targeting.
• Consider the right size dimensions and make sure the QR codes are placed where your customers’ eyes can easily locate them.
• Don’t just stick to one – play around with different variations and keep updating using relevant yet customized offerings & deals.
• State benefits of scanning with your QR displays, to promote more scans.
• Always remember to test your QR codes before sharing.
• Use dynamic QR codes backed with easy to alter landing pages to be more flexible and productive.
• Use high-quality when it comes to printed versions.
• Keep an eye on progress insights and actively improvise.

Conclusion

The QR code is an important aspect of today's retail and restaurant operations since it assist you in providing the sorts of experiences that your clients desire. In other words, QR codes make it simple for customers to interact with your business by just opening their smartphone's camera app.

QR codes are back, and they are in many ways a lot more mature of a technology now. As opposed to their first wave of popularity, they’re being used in ways that make a lot more sense. The beauty of a technological change is that once you’re used to it you can’t imagine going back. Once you’ve ordered in a restaurant or bar from your phone instead of having to wait for a waiter or having to go to the counter you never want to go back to the old way.

If anything, COVID has forced more people to use QR codes, and therefore become comfortable with them, meaning that most of your users will know what to do when they see a QR code now. That being said we have to be careful to not overuse them again. People got tired of them once, they can get tired of them again.

The one test you should always consider before you open a QR code generator is - could the user do this in a different way, rather than scanning a QR code. And then ask yourself, is this other way harder or simpler than scanning a code, which is more of an inconvenience. In many cases, QR codes are the most user-friendly solution, but most does not mean all.

And one last thing, remember to always test your QR codes yourself, and print them at a large enough scale, the only thing worse than not having a QR code is having a QR code nobody can scan.